


Run of the Mill

by Pleb



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 10:07:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20207974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pleb/pseuds/Pleb
Summary: Emma decides to spend her summer volunteering at a farm miles away from home.This may or may not have something to do with trying to distract herself from a painful crush on a certain brunette teacher.But what will happen when said teacher isn’t as many miles away as Emma suspects?





	1. Chapter 1

‘Run of the mill’  
Emma peered at the shrub covered sign and glanced back down at the email on her phone. Yep, this was it alright. She glanced uncertainly around at the half rotten gate and surrounding forestry. 

Jesus Christ they really weren’t kidding when they labelled the place as in the middle of nowhere. Emma had been walking from for hours, circling up and down the hillsides of the surrounding village in search of the farm. The journey from the train station to her new home for the next month had been an impossible one and her legs were killing.  
She threw her rucksack gracelessly over the fence and then herself in quite the same manner, not quite having enough energy to open the gate. Suspecting that if she did then the mossy post would surely crumble under her very hand. 

‘Helloooo’ Emma called, stumbling along a rocky path towards the building that she assumed to be a barn or stable or something similar. ‘Anyone home?!’   
The blonde grinned and rolled her eyes, only she could end up volunteering in a ghost farm. A horse whinnied somewhere in the distance and Emma started at the noise. 

A giggle came from behind her when the Emma jumped and she spun around, grin still in place.   
‘Just my luck for someone to materialise just as I’m making a dick of myself’ she chuckled, running her hand through her blonde mane.   
A woman Emma guesses to be in her 50s at least reached out a hand and introduced herself,  
‘You must be Emma.’ She grinned cheerily, shaking the blondes hand with gusto.   
Emma immediately liked the woman. 

‘And you just be my new boss.’ She grinned, leaning against a fencepost.   
‘No - not me,’ the woman chuckled, ‘I’m just the meet and greeter - call me granny, everyone else does.’ The name suited her, rosy cheeks and white fluffy hair.   
‘Regina is out in town at the moment, you’ll meet her later.’ Granny promised, handing Emma a bucket of water. ‘Here.’ She smiled, ‘Make yourself useful.’   
The two of them walked into the barn carrying a bucket each and talking with as much ease as though they’d known each other their whole lives. 

‘You’ll like my daughter Ruby.’ Granny said with certainty, ‘she works here too but only at weekends so you’ll meet her tomorrow.’ Emma smiled at the woman’s idle chit chat, pleased at the idea of someone her age being around. Maybe this ruby girl would even get her mind off of her ridiculously attractive English teacher Miss Mills. Emma zoned out of the conversation at the idea of the teacher and Granny had to snap her fingers at the blonde to regain her attention.   
‘What?’ Emma blinked, ‘sorry I got distracted.’ She grinned sheepishly.   
‘Clearly’, Granny chuckled and handed her another bucket.  
‘I said will you please take this down to the bottom paddock.’ She repeated, ‘you can’t miss it. Just walk down the path and it’s the field with the massive brown horse in.’ 

Emma complied and took the bucket, setting off on her first task of the day. She was just rounding the corner into said paddock when a figure on a horse caught her eye. The person was coming towards her and although Emma couldn’t quite make out a face, there was something about the way the woman was holding herself that seemed vaguely familiar. Emma shook her head and leaned over the fence to place the bucket down next to the chestnut coloured steed. There wasn’t a chance she knew anyone around here, she was miles away from home. 

When the blonde looked up again the person was closer and Emma blinked once, blinked again and then shook her head. You had to be fucking joking. Riding towards her on the blackest, shiniest horse Emma had ever seen, was none other than Miss Mills. 

The teacher looked just as puzzled as Emma must’ve done as she came within talking distance of the blonde.   
‘Miss Swan?’ She quizzed, ‘Whatever are you doing here?’   
Emma gaped up at her like a guppy out of water. She was surprised the teacher even knew her name.   
‘I’m - ugh, I’m working here.’ She explained. ‘On this farm.’   
Regina smirked conspiratorially and Emma wondered what the inside joke was that she seemed to be missing.  
‘What are you doing here Miss Mills?’ She asked feeling her face redden at her direct address to the goddess in front of her. 

‘It’s Regina, dear.’ The brunette smirked, holding out her hand to the girl. ‘And it appears, Miss Swan, that I’m your new boss.’ 

Emma shook her head in disbelief and reached to shake the woman’s hand. Lightning shooting up her arm at the smallest touch. 

‘Run of the mill...’ Emma muttered, shaking her head and grinning at the ridiculousness of the whole situation.   
‘Yes, my late fathers idea of a pun.’ Regina explained, not once losing the smirk as she quirked an eyebrow at the blondes realisation of the name.   
‘Well Miss Swan,’ Regina stated, and Emma swore the brunettes brown orbs travelled once over the girls body, before returning to her emerald gaze. ‘Back to work.’ She winked, ‘I must warn you I’m quite the slave driver.’ She chuckled - a low vibration that erupted from the back of her throat, leaving Emma’s mouth dry.   
Before Emma could quip back the brunette rode off. The sight of her teachers ass in jodhpurs seared into the students mind for the rest of eternity. 

Jesus Christ she was screwed.


	2. Getting settled in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma meets the love of Reginas life Daniel...

Emma gaped after the woman before stumbling up the path from which she had come - in the wake of Regina -back to the barn. By the she had gotten there Granny was nowhere to be seen, Regina had already dismounted and was beginning to lead her horse back into a stable. 

Emma stood watching from the doorway unaware that Regina even knew she was there. That is, until the brunette cleared her throat and turned to address the teenager.  
‘Well Emma, I thought you were here to help, but I must’ve been mistaken, all you’re doing is watching.’ she chided jokingly, her smile reaching her eyes in a fashion that let the blonde know she was only teasing. 

Emma walked over to where Regina stood next to the stable, still talking to the blonde, ‘Well, it’s about time you met the love of my life, Daniel.’  
Emma felt her heart drop at the words that left Regina mouth and she tried to ignore the crushing disappointment that settled in her stomach.   
‘Yep,’ The brunette continued, unaware of Emma’s sudden change in mood, ‘he’s the only man in my life.’   
Emma tried to avoid the scowl that was threatening to settle on her face and bunched her hands into fists in her pockets.   
‘Oh? No, I haven’t met him.’ The girl sighed looking around the room for some dopey guy that she was sure this Daniel would be.  
‘Well sure you have.’ Regina grinned stroking the dark nose of the horse that nuzzled at her face, ‘he’s right here.’   
Emma looked at her for a moment, puzzled until realisation dawned on her.   
‘Oh!’ She grinned laughing at her own stupidity, ‘Yeah he’s a real beauty.’ She agreed, reaching up to scratch the horses neck. Daniel leaned into her touch and nudged his nose roughly against Emma’s arm for more. Regina smiled at the horses antics,   
‘Wow he likes you.’ She quirked an eyebrow, ‘he only usually does that to me.’ 

‘He must be a good judge of character.’ Emma grinned challenging her teachers gaze.   
‘Apparently so’ Regina smirked back, one flash of her dark eyes enough to leave the blonde speechless. 

The two of them spoke for a while longer, about what Emma’s farm work would entail. Even about Regina’s father who apparently was a brilliant man who worked to build the farm from the ground up. Regina told her of how she left Granny in charge during the term time when she was lecturing and Emma found herself even further enamoured ( if possible ) with the brunette. The woman’s passion for the running of the farm, even alongside the responsibilities she faced teaching was something Emma found ridiculously attractive.   
‘So you never get too stressed out with all the work, you never just want to give up?’ Emma quizzed, awed by the woman’s dedication. 

‘Well it is difficult sometimes, of course.’ Regina explained, leaning over to bolt the door shut behind Daniel. Emma’s eyes roamed over her teachers body as soon as the chance arose. She felt heat rush to her face and pool even more so at her core when the woman draped herself languidly over the door to slide the bolt shut. The poor blonde choked on air, trying to clear her throat casually so as to not lead the teacher to suspect anything was amiss. 

Regina looked back over her shoulder and quirked a perfectly manicured eyebrow at the girls beet-red face.   
‘But I like difficult...’ She smirked, ‘Makes things just that little bit more exciting’ don’t you think Miss Swan?’   
‘I -ugh, I guess so?.’ Emma stuttered, still recovering from the sight of Regina bent in front of her. The girls imagination was reeling at the teachers words, god damn her dirty mind. 

‘Oh, I have been a rude host.’ Regina gasped, turning on her heel and marching out of the stable, ‘Come on dear, let me show you to your room.’ She called over her shoulder. Emma sped after her. 

Regina led Emma to another suspiciously stable-like looking building and pulled a key out of her pocket to unlock the door. 

There was a small corridor with a set of ladders at one end and a smaller wooden door at the other.   
Regina walked over towards the door and pulled another key out to unlock it.   
‘Home sweet home!’ She stated with a flourish, throwing the door open to reveal a small oak room barely big enough to hold the bed, desk and lamp inside.   
Emma sighed and threw her backpack onto the bed, accepting her fate for the next few weeks. 

‘Oh and I’m in the room up these ladders.’ Regina continued gesturing to the other side of the corridor,  
‘I gave Granny the cottage for her and Ruby, they’re here more often that me.’ She explained.   
‘So if you need anything at any point, I’m right on top of you.’ She said, throwing a set of keys at Emma.   
The blonde flushed at the woman’s accidental double entendre, lost in a world of imagining Regina on top of her in a whole other sense of the word.   
‘Right.’ She croaked, smiling weakly at the star of her fantasies. ‘Thanks Miss Mills’ 

‘Call me Regina.’ The woman assured her, her eyes sparkling as she backed out of the blondes room. ‘But don’t be telling anyone. Can’t have anyone thinking I have favourites now can we?’ She winked, turning on her heel once more and strutting out of the dimly lit corridor.


End file.
